We'll Take a Cup of Kindness Yet
by lostinafictionalworld
Summary: Matt and Foggy share some New Year's Eve traditions. Set between seasons 1 and 2.


"So remind me how many years you've been coming here for New Year's Eve," Matt asked as he and Foggy made their way down the winding paths of Brooklyn's Prospect Park. There was no snow on the ground but the evening was briskly cold and their breath hung frozen in the air. Matt tugged his scarf tighter around his neck.

"Well," Foggy replied, scratching his head as he tried to remember, "my family has been coming to the zoo every since I was in, oh I don't know, second or third grade. But us kids were too little to stay out for hours until the fireworks so we didn't start staying for those until I was in probably middle school. So a long time."

"It's a good tradition," Matt said fondly. Their first year at Columbia, Foggy had been distraught that Matt was planning to stay at school for the winter break since he didn't have any family to spend it with, and he had been downright horrified when he realized that was exactly what Matt had done for Thanksgiving. He had informed Matt in no uncertain terms that he would be coming home with Foggy to enjoy the Nelson family holiday experience. Matt had been part of the tradition ever since, and had continued going to New Year's fireworks with Foggy even after Foggy's family had stopped coming, his parents complaining they were too old to enjoy being out in the cold for so long and his siblings doing new traditions with their own families.

The zoo was pretty crowded when they arrived, full of families with school kids on break, and Matt stayed close by Foggy's elbow as they made their way along the pathways. Matt could have done without the hoards of shouting children and the nearly overwhelming palette of smells the zoo contained, but it was worth it for Foggy's running commentary of the various displays.

"And on your right," Foggy announced in a perfect imitation of a tour guide, "we have a small legion of those skinny little gopher things that live in the desert."

"Meerkats?"

" Yes! Those! Right now there's about eight or ten of them compacted into like a square foot of space directly under the heat lamp. I guess they take issue with the cold.

"And here we have some psychedelic looking frogs. They look poisonous. Yep, the sign says they're poisonous. Not touching those."

They carefully made their way through a jostling swarm of kids and wandered further through the exhibits.

"So do you want to check out the farm animals next?"

"You know," Matt mused, "I never really understood why they have farm animals at zoos. I mean they aren't exactly exotic."

"You'd actually be surprised. I have a cousin who'd never seen a live cow until he was like twenty-five. Which is impressive when you consider how many of my relatives are butchers." Matt laughed.

"Yeah, I suppose some people never really make it out of the city. I think I'll pass on the farm animals all the same."

"Okay, onwards to exotic animals. On your left, there's a giant monkey-thing that's approximately the color of a mango." Matt snorted loudly. "No, seriously, Matt. It looks dyed. That is the strangest colored monkey I've ever seen. There's also a giant fluffy gray cat. It's like a marshmallow with legs. I bet it doesn't mind the cold.

"And coming up on your left," Matt heard excited squeaking and the patter of many feet, "we have some otters running up and down the enclosure after a four year old.

"And last but not least, we have a red raccoon-cat thing. Oh hey," Foggy cackled loudly, "it just got scared and fell over backwards. How do those things survive in the wild? Whatever it is."

"It's a red panda," a tiny voice to their left volunteered.

"What?" Matt and Foggy asked at the same time.

"It's not a raccoon. It's a red panda," the same little girl said sagely.

"Of course," Matt said, trying to keep a straight face as Foggy started leading him away. "Thanks for letting us know."

"Well," Foggy said in an undertone, trying hard not to laugh, "we just got schooled by a six year old. That's a new one. We should come to the zoo more often."

"Sounds like a plan," Matt agreed with a chuckle.

0 0 0

The sun had set by the time they left the zoo and the air was growing steadily colder. After a break for dinner at a tiny little Indian restaurant that was a favorite of Foggy's, they still had a few hours before midnight. To pass the time, they meandered around the park, paused for a while to listen to some buskers performing nearby, and stopped in a café for some coffee and to take a break from the cold.

At long last, it was almost midnight and time for the fireworks. The park was getting fairly crowded with all the revelers but Foggy managed to find an empty bench with a decent view for the show.

"So," Foggy asked as they sat down to wait, "which version of the fireworks do you want this year? Just colors, just styles, or the ridiculous rapid-fire that is both?"

"You don't have to do that," Matt said quietly.

"Sure I do," Foggy insisted brightly. "I narrate it every year. It's part of the tradition. So both? That's always good for a laugh at least when it gets to the finale. Or—"

"Foggy," Matt stopped him. He took a deep breath before continuing. "You remember what I told you about what I can do?"

Foggy stiffened slightly, the way he always did when Matt mentioned his abilities. They hadn't talked about it as much as they should and it was still a touchy subject.

"You mean the whole 'world on fire' thing?" Foggy asked, unsure of where this was going. "You said you use sounds and heat sensing and stuff to piece together where stuff is and…" He trailed off and Matt could almost hear the pieces clicking into place in his head.

"You can see them, can't you? The fireworks?"

"Yeah," Matt confirmed quietly. He adjusted his glasses uncomfortably.

"Damn it, Matt," Foggy sighed, slumping back against the bench. "You can't just say things like that." He sounded more disappointed than angry.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

Foggy just sighed again. All around them people were starting to count down to midnight.

"Let's just watch the show, okay?" Foggy said finally.

"… Five, four, three, two, ONE!"

The park erupted with cheers and there was a barrage of pops and bangs as the fireworks began.

Matt and Foggy were quiet for a very long minute, a bubble of silence amidst the craze of celebration, but eventually the curiosity was too much for Foggy to resist.

"So you really can see them?"

"Yeah."

"Even the colors?"

"Yeah. That one's a red weeping willow sort of thing… Silver and blue round ones... Gold sort of sparkly things…"

"Showoff. How?"

"They're just explosions. The reverberations off the buildings help me place them and the sparks are hot enough I can sense the shapes. The colors are just caused by different chemical compounds—copper salts for blue, titanium for white, that sort of thing. Those get a bit muddled after a while if there's no breeze to move the smoke along but the smell is pretty strong."

"You can smell the chemicals in the smoke?" Foggy asked incredulously.

"Foggy, I can smell the food dye in the mustard you spilled on that coat last week."

"I did not spill—oh, I stand corrected."

"You're a real dick for not telling me sooner," Foggy said after a long pause.

"Foggy, I'm sorry—"

"No, seriously," Foggy cut him off. "My mom gave me shit for years about making you come with me to the fireworks. I mean obviously she loved having you along and including you in the family, but she said I was rude for not finding some new tradition to do that was more interesting for you than sitting in the cold listening to loud noises for half an hour." He snorted dismissively to himself.

Matt laughed, relieved Foggy was no longer truly upset with him.

"I told her every year how much I enjoyed going!"

"She thought you were just being polite!"

"Of course I was being polite, but that doesn't mean it wasn't true!"

"Oh my god," Foggy said with dawning horror, "you can see the zoo animals too, can't you? You've been letting me do my ridiculous narrations for years and you can see them!"

"But Foggy, I love your ridiculous narrations! That's what makes it fun, more fun that just looking at a bunch of animals."

Foggy just buried his face in his hands.

"Foggy," Matt said earnestly, "maybe I didn't need them to know what was happening but that never stopped me appreciating them. The fireworks, the zoo, they're important to you and you're taking the time to share them with me. I've never had many friends and I've never had anyone in my life work as hard as you do to make sure I feel included, not to mention that you do it in a way that's not patronizing or condescending.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth. I thought it would keep you from getting hurt but it just hurt you in a different way. Things didn't play out the way I would've wanted and I know it changes things, but I'm glad you know. You're my best friend, Foggy, and you deserve the truth."

"You know you're my best friend too, Matt." He leaned over to bump shoulders with him. "This whole Daredevil thing may change some things but it doesn't change that. You'll have to work a hell of a lot harder than that to get rid of me."

"I'm glad," Matt said with a grin. "Happy New Year, Foggy."

"And many more to come."

* * *

 **A/N:** Happy New Year! So the crazy, ridiculous thing about this fic is that I originally started writing it at the end of 2015. That was way back before season 2 even aired and I had no idea what would happen next. But I didn't get it finished in time and didn't want to post it late so I decided to save it and finish it the next year. But the same thing happened the next year. And the year after that. Until finally this year with the release of season 3 and the show's cancellation (boo!), I was able to scrounge together enough motivation to get it done, and on time, no less! So please forgive the disjointed nature of this fic and the mediocre ending. It's kinda bittersweet finishing a hopeful, future-looking post-season 1 fic while knowing all the bumps in their relationship over the next two seasons, but that's what I get for cobbling it together a few words at a time over the course of four holiday seasons. Oh and the title is a line from 'Auld Lang Syne'. Thanks for reading and best wishes to you all for a happy 2019!


End file.
